Im new here but let me say, I recently bought a stove and many people, mostly the local dealers, all talked about how terrible any stove is that doesnt cost $3500+ or whatever. Stoves arent easy to find and the dealers that have them expect a credit application and mortgage payment. Many say you must buy this or that, and perhaps there is alot of sense to that. I wouldnt look at the cheapo cast stuff, and I wouldnt look at some of the harbor freight, volganzag or whatever other chepo name. BUT, I did buy the US stoves magnolia from tractor supply for about $800 and Im impressed. I personally feel this stove will last me 20+ years, and is fabbed from 3/16 plate steel, and with care will look and perform well. So far it burns well, it is well controlled and was 1/3 the price of anything comparable. Many say you must spend the money etc etc, but steel prices have been dropping and well to be honest, I work in the "metal" industry, and its a metal box, glorified, sometimes artistic some better put together than others, but still a metal box. $3500 ?? R&D;, EPA, etc etc I know there are fees and I will probly get screamed at, but in my opinion, 3 times the cost does not make up for the lack of features or quality in the case of my US stoves magnolia. If you have access to this model let me say, IM not impressed with the fan, it seems not very well placed and a bit loud, but it is there and included if you choose to use it. Also Im not thrilled with the ash cleanout, the plate to cover the access is thin and rides up allowing air in, Ive fixed this with a square piece of 3/8 steel instead, seals up fine now. Also the legs appear, well a bit chinsy i would say. They work, they arent going to break, but the cast legs just dont look quite as good as some of the $3500 models. The box itself is great, the quality is there, the thickness, the welds etc. The baffle is not removable, and after time I guess this could be a drawback as well, considering I presume you could burn it out. But in my case, I will just buy another, I believe that SS baffle will last at least 7-10 years, at which time I can attempt to repair it or invest another $800 in the newest but cheapest stove technology. Also, the stove is made in China, to some a drawback. Ive also submitted earlier a post stating that the magnolia is a chinese fab box used by many other manufactures only changing the door and legs then charging much much more. You can find this post by searching for the magnolia, and it somewhat explains my conspiracy attitude as it seemed apparent to me that this magnolia box is used in many other brands, all stamped with different names and at much different prices. We have all seen this before in other sectors, its very common and IM afraid some are still behind the times in waking up to this type of marketing scam.....only good stove costs at least $2500 ?? Perhaps those that paid alot for their stove feel no one else should have a warm, good looking stove for less? Another stove that was highly recommended but unavailable, is the New englander NC30, I really wanted this stove but would still be cold waiting for it to come off the production line. Look around, there are others as well. Under $1k
